An unusually cold and snowy winter has not deterred Monticello's archaeologists in the quest to advance our knowledge of Jefferson's mountaintop. From November through January, our intrepid crew of archaeological field assistants, led by Field Research Manager Crystal Ptacek, explored the North...More >>

This winter, as part of the exciting multi-year effort to restore Monticello to its appearance in Jefferson’s time, we are recreating a log dwelling that likely once housed members of the enslaved Hemings family. The recreated 12’ x 14’ log quarter is being reconstructed on Mulberry Row, “the main...More >>

Some time ago, while rooting around in the archives (looking for something else, as usual), I came across a newspaper clipping from the Charlottesville Daily Progress from 1966. It seems that NBC had just released its new pronunciation manual , which directed newscasters to pronounce Monticello "...More >>

David M. Rubenstein was the featured speaker at Monticello’s 52nd Annual Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony—the oldest continuous naturalization ceremony held outside of a courtroom in the United States. In this "Monticello Sits Down With..." interview, Rubenstein shares his...More >>

People today often forget how flexible rooms were in the past. The North Passage on the 2 nd floor of Monticello is a prime example of multi-functionality. Of course it was a corridor, but it also acted as a storage area, work room, and as sleeping quarters for visitors and enslaved workers. This...More >>

The Huffington Post and Southern Living both included the 8th Annual Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello to lists of upcoming "buzzworthy" events in the South this Fall. Check out what they had to say about this lively and family-friendly festival: Food and Music Mix It up at These Southern...More >>

I feel the tomato is the most generous plant of the summer. It always amazes me at how much product can come from a seed the size of a pencil head! Here in Napa Valley, we have mild winters that are governed by the Pacific Ocean. We occasionally get frost at night, but during the day the frost...More >>

Monticello visitors are experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime event as the Thomas Jefferson Foundation undertakes a major landscape restoration project on Mulberry Row . Jefferson, whose passion for landscapes and gardens closely paralleled his devotion to architecture, created one of the most complex...More >>

How did they install furniture on the third floor of Monticello? With restoration of the upper floors underway and not much historical evidence to go on, our Restoration and Curatorial teams were tasked with finding a solution around those narrow stairways. After lots of measuring, they decided...More >>